Gov’t resolves 10-year disputes with Egypt’s mobile operators

DISPUTE WATCH- Gov’t arbitrates 10-year-old dispute worth EGP 2 bn with MNOs: The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has managed to settle disputes between mobile network operators (MNOs) that have gone on for 10 years, the CIT Ministry said in a statement last week. Orange, Vodafone, and Etisalat have apparently been engaging in a costly legal battle (which the ministry says had cost USD 2 bn) over the rates they charge customers for mobile calls between different networks, since 2009. “Such disputes have had a negative impact on the stability and clarity of relations between operators in the Egyptian ICT sector,” the ministry said. Enterprise has reached out to the government and mobile operators to get insights and the specifics of the settlement, but they were not available to comment.